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The Brief with Jim Sciutto
Tehran Warns U.S. of Retaliation; U.S. Central Command: New Wave Of Strikes On Iran; China Rejects Trump's Accusation Of U.S. Election Meddling; Burnham To Succeed Keir Starmer As PM On Monday; Estonian Intelligence Chief On Russia; Tech Stocks Fall As Chinese A.I. Model Stokes Competition Fears; Shredded Lettuce Linked To U.S. Stomach Bug Outbreak. Aired 6-7p ET
Aired July 17, 2026 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[18:00:00]
PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and a very warm welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Paula Newton in New York. Jim
Sciutto is off. You are watching "The Brief."
Just ahead this hour, as the U.S. launches more strikes on Iran, Tehran threatens to target key ports in the region. The Director General of the
Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service tells Jim about the risk of Russian strikes beyond Ukraine, and it's Hollywood, but now not as we've ever known
it. Why Christopher Nolan's "Odyssey" is a huge leap in IMAX technology. Those stories and plenty more coming up here on "The Brief."
And we do begin with the U.S. launching a new wave of strikes against Iran. That's according to the U.S. military. Earlier, U.S. strikes hit several
bridges in the country's south, near the Strait of Hormuz. That's according to Iranian state media. The U.S. said it destroyed a key military
surveillance tower on Iran's coast that was ordered in order to stop shipping attacks.
Furious, Iran responded, firing missiles and drones at U.S. Gulf allies and threatening full-scale retaliatory attacks if the strikes continue. Kuwait
says Iranian missiles injured a number of its soldiers.
Now, an Indian seafarer who went missing in an Iranian attack on his ship Sunday has now been confirmed dead. That's according to Indian officials.
India is now banning its seafarers from taking Strait of Hormuz routes as traffic there continues to fall. In fact, marine traffic reports just six
ships crossed the Strait in the past 24 hours, and that is a three-week low.
Carlos del Toro served as the U.S. Navy secretary in the Biden administration, and he joins me now. I do wonder, from your vantage point
as secretary of the Navy, you see the strikes by the United States and the retaliation. I mean, after what they have been hitting, do you think this
will work to secure the Strait and or bring Iran to the negotiating table?
CARLOS DEL TORO, FORMER U.S. NAVY SECRETARY: Good evening, Paula. Unfortunately, I don't believe that the military strikes will have any
significant impact on Iran's reaction. In fact, it will just make them madder and perhaps force them to attack more ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
The bottom line is we really need to get back to the negotiation table. And, you know, naval blockades are difficult and complex to execute, but
they typically demand an inordinate amount of time for them to be successful. And time is not on our side, unfortunately, at least in Iran's
eyes.
NEWTON: In Iran's eyes, and a lot of those calculations are political, I am wondering, though, this is supposed to be peace through strength, right? Is
the U.S. not projecting properly in all of this? And that comes after all of the claims from both Pete Hegseth and the president about how much of
the military capacity they had wiped out.
DEL TORO: Paula, it's not that the U.S. is not responding, you know, operationally speaking, from strength. The problem is that Iran has a huge
geographic advantage that is very difficult to counteract. And, therefore, it's extremely hard to hit all of the targets on the southern coast of Iran
that protect the Straits from which they can actually launch drone strikes and missile strikes on ships.
And keep in mind that it only takes one missile strike to create the chaos that we're seeing today, leading to the few number of ships that are going
through the Straits prior to the conflict. Approximately 130 ships were transiting the Straits. And let's not forget that this is very much a
conflict of choice that we've gone into without a clear understanding of what the exit strategy should be. And there lies the biggest challenge that
we face.
NEWTON: And you did say that time's not on the side of the United States. I am wondering, again, in your former role, do you see everyone deployed out
there in terms of the U.S. military, naval assets, air assets, and think to yourself, how long can they keep this up? Because I know we have been
hearing certainly from certain sectors, especially on those aircraft carriers, they've been deployed so long now.
[18:05:00]
DEL TORO: Well, they have been deployed, and we should always be thankful of our military service members serving in the Straits and across the
world. They're certainly doing their very best to meet the military objectives that are being set by the political leadership. But the problem
here is not meeting the military objectives as we tried to do during the Vietnam War, for example. It's meeting the political objectives, right? And
how well do those military objectives lead to the political outcome that we so desire?
In this case, it's having the Straits open. And it will take an inordinate amount of effort for a much longer period of time. I remember when I
immediately after February 28th, you know, I was asked a question whether military strikes and the fact that Iran would be perhaps losing $500
million a day and lost all revenues would force them to the negotiation table. And I said that I don't believe that that will actually force them
to the negotiation table. And here we are today, five months later, and they're still not there.
NEWTON: I hate to ask you this question, given we don't have a lot of time left, but I will ask it anyway. What would you do? What would you be
advising President Trump to do now?
DEL TORO: Well, I think we need to send serious negotiators over to Iran and have a serious attempt to negotiate a settlement. And we should
obviously use the possibility of removing the naval blockade on their many military and civilian ports as a negotiation tool and try to get them to
negotiate. But unfortunately, they hold the political -- the geographic advantage right now, and they don't seem in any hurry whatsoever to
negotiate before the November elections.
NEWTON: Again, so much of the timing here, political. Carlos del Toro, thanks so much. Really appreciate your expertise.
DEL TORO: Thank you, Paula.
NEWTON: Now, Beijing is pushing back against President Trump's claims that China tried to influence U.S. elections. China's foreign ministry says Mr.
Trump's claims have no factual ground. It called on Washington to act in a way that's conducive to China-U.S. relations.
Now, last night, you'll remember President Trump accused China in a primetime address of illegally obtaining information about U.S. voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The People's Republic of China carried out what is believed to be the largest compromise of election data in history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, Mr. Trump offered no evidence that China actually acted on that information to sway votes or change election results, and even though
nearly all U.S. voters cast a paper ballot, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin raised the possibility that voting machines could be
hacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Foreign adversaries have parts that are vital pieces in our voting machines. We know that they
can access what they consider the key to the back of these machines. We know that they can change voter registration and your vote. We know it's
possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Now, China's foreign ministry spokesperson lobbed a subtle accusation at the U.S. saying it's clear to the International Community
which country had wantonly interfered in other countries' internal affairs. President Trump has been calling on Congress to pass an elections bill that
critics warn would disrupt voter participation in the fall midterms.
Our Julia Benbrook joins us now for more. I mean, Julia, good to see you. I am wondering here that there's a couple of things. Will the president
actually get what he wants from Congress? Does that make things any more likely? And also, by just starting this, is he really compromising his
relationship with the Chinese president, who's expected to come to the United States in the fall?
JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Lots to unpack here. A lot was said during what was billed as a major address on election integrity. But
President Donald Trump, he really started out with some of his standard talking points, taking through what he considers his biggest
accomplishments in office so far.
The big reveal when it comes to election integrity was a series of newly declassified documents that he says were previously hidden from him, from
the American people, and that he claims reveal that the American election system is, quote, "catastrophically short" of the standard required.
But an early review of those documents, a CNN review, found that a lot of this is not new. A lot of what was included, they were previously known
potential vulnerabilities in the American election system, and that a 2021 report from the U.S. Intelligence Committee outlined a lot of these same
details.
Now, one of the claims that Trump cited during this speech was that China had allegedly obtained hundreds of millions of U.S. voter rolls. That was
alluded to in that 2021 document as well. In fact, it said that China probably also continued longstanding efforts to gather information on U.S.
voters and public opinion, political parties, candidates and their staffs, and senior government officials.
[18:10:00]
As you pointed out, they are pushing back against these claims that Trump made during his speech. The timing of this speech alone deserves some
attention. This is coming just four months before these major elections that are looking challenging for Trump's own party, the Republican Party.
That, combined with the fact that Trump has made false claims about elections that haven't gone his way in the past, are causing concern for
some.
And then there's that focus on the election legislation that you pointed to, the Save America Act. This is something that Trump has really been
focused on in recent weeks and has really been pushing for. But it is not likely to pass. It includes a lot stricter rules when it comes to voter ID,
proof of citizenship, and even some in his own party are warning that that may not happen.
This speech, though, is kind of providing a glimpse, a roadmap of how he might respond. Number one, if the elections don't go the way that he wants
them to, and number two, if the Save America Act does not pass. That is the concern of some Democrats.
NEWTON: I just want to switch gears because this afternoon the president did start blaming Canada for all the smoke coming over. It is true that
most of them are Canadian wildfires. He says he's going to levy tariffs on them. He said that in a Truth Social post. You see it there. I want you to
listen, though, to the premier of Ontario and his response, not directly to the president, but to other Republican lawmakers who also were blaming
Canada. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG FORD, ONTARIO PREMIER: You know, a good neighbor, and I truly believe the Americans are good neighbors. If there's some politicians out there
chirping away, well, maybe what you should do rather than complain is send support, send help, because we have done the exact same thing for our
American friends, and that's what you're supposed to do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: Julia, you are there in New Jersey. The president will be attending the FIFA World Cup. I believe the forecast is for better skies. The skies
are a bit hazy behind you, but not as bad as they were yesterday. I'm wondering what's behind all of this from the president.
BENBROOK: Well, there's been some tension with Canada. That's no secret throughout this second term, and Trump is saying that he is going to blame
this issue, this wildfire smoke that is hovering over much of the Midwestern and Eastern United States solely on them.
I want to pull up part of that post for you now, because this is in Trump's own words. He said, we are holding Canada responsible for the fact that
they are not properly maintaining their forest and brush therein, and the United States is being unnecessarily invaded by filthy, polluted and
unhealthy air, the quality of which is dangerous and totally unacceptable.
Now, Trump vowed to call Prime Minister Mark Carney. He also said that the cost of pollution could be added to the tariff rate that Canada is already
paying. That alone is already an area of tension.
NEWTON: Yes. I will note that U.S. research shows, government research, in fact, shows that in the last decade, U.S. wildfires and forest fires have
gotten a lot worse as well. So, yes, there are no borders when it comes to that smoke. Julia Benbrook for us. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.
Now, the end of the relatively short-lived era and a new one to start. Andy Burham was named the leader of Britain's Labour Party today, the last step
before he officially becomes prime minister on Monday. The former Manchester mayor succeeds Keir Starmer and will be the U.K.'s seventh prime
minister in just a decade. He's got his work cut out for him. Britain is facing slow economic growth, inflation, stagnant wages and steep political
divisions.
We get more now from CNN's Nic Robertson.
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH FOREIGN MINISTER: This is the end of my political journey.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Keir Starmer's last moments in Parliament.
STARMER: I will give my wholehearted support to my successor.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): A rather British end to a bruising battle to hold on to his job.
STARMER: To my wife and children, I love you. Goodbye.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): The irony, he rarely got as much applause as prime minister.
ANDY BURNHAM, CONFIRMED AS BRITISH LABOUR PARTY LEADER: I see this as a last chance to change, particularly for the Labour Party.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): His replacement, the charismatic northerner, former Manchester mayor, Andy Burnham, arrives pumped from electoral success. His
mayor to prime minister metamorphosis is a work in progress.
BURNHAM: I am going to do things differently.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Still wearing the T-shirt he calls his Manchester uniform. Yet in the month since his local election victory, allowing him to
oust Starmer, he's offered little detail on his plans other than opening a number 10 office in Manchester and pushing power from London to regional
mayors.
BURNHAM: Place first, not party first. Problem solving, not point scoring. Long-term, not short-term.
[18:15:00]
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Before any of that, though, the problem his party expects him to fix, the rise of populist right-wing reform under Nigel
Farage. Burnham rolled back reforms gains in his recent victory. But Farage, facing allegations he denies of failing to disclose financial
donations, seems to be laying a trap for Burnham, another test of popularity.
NIGEL FARAGE, REFORM U.K. LEADER: I've decided that the people of Clapton should be the judges of my actions. This will be a people versus the
establishment by-election.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): All parties are treating Farage's re-election as a political stunt. Only the satirical candidate, Count Binface, will run
against him.
On foreign policy, where the U.K. faces the most consequential challenges, Burnham has offered only a few clues, significantly saying he's not afraid
to disagree with President Trump.
BURNHAM: I'll just meet him where he's at. It's about respecting the office, the relationship, the U.K.-U.S. relationship. But where you
disagree, do it, but do it in a way that is kind of meeting him where he's at.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): On the Mideast, too, hinting at diverging from U.S. alignment.
BURNHAM: I know many people feel that at the start of Israel's military action in Gaza, my party didn't get it right, and I am sorry about that.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): With wars impacting allies in the Mideastern Europe and the U.K.'s defense budget facing a more than $6.3 billion hole,
Burnham's domestic agenda of change will struggle for his undivided attention.
In his last days in office, Starmer still trying to make that balance work. His third overseas trip in nine days. NATO in Ankara, Paris for the
Coalition of the Willing, and his last one as prime minister to Kyiv. A farewell to President Zelenskyy and the problems of high office.
Nic Robertson, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Still ahead for us, a Chinese company you've probably never heard of is shaking up the world of artificial intelligence. Why Moonshot thinks
it can eclipse the more established A.I. giants. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[18:20:00]
NEWTON: The head of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service says Russian President Vladimir Putin is running out of time and out of cards in his war
against Ukraine. Jim Sciutto sat down with Director General Kaupo Rosin at the Aspen Security Forum. He asked him whether Ukraine was winning the war.
Let's listen to their conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAUPO ROSIN, DIRECTOR GENERAL, ESTONIAN FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE: What we are seeing is that the initiative currently is on the Ukrainian side.
So, Ukraine is doing an excellent job, not only on the front line, but also in the -- let's say, in the short strike area, in the middle strike, but
also in the long-range strike area, which has a huge effect on the Russian psychology first, but also on the direct impact on the Russian economy.
And all this is -- has brought Russia to a position where we do not hear anymore, you know, in Moscow talk about total victory. It has changed. So,
the vibe in Moscow has changed, at least among the people who are surrounding Putin.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, "THE BRIEF": Would you say that Putin is threatened now by this, weakened? As a leader?
ROSIN: I think he is a completely new situation, which he hasn't been before. And well, the main question, of course, was what he thinks about
all this. I'm not sure he understands the full impact yet. I think he's a little bit distracted from reality. But over the coming months, the real
world will catch up with him. And it will impact his decision making.
SCIUTTO: Do you believe he's running out of options regarding the Ukraine war?
ROSIN: I think he's running out of time and out of cards. I think he's very soon not able to negotiate from a position of strength in the Ukraine
situation. So, he's in a very interesting position.
SCIUTTO: In terms of Ukraine turning the tide of this war, having the momentum, has that been largely on their own with their defense innovation,
drones, et cetera?
ROSIN: Well, Ukrainians have done an incredible job. And they are carrying the main burden on the battlefield, the blood. But at the same time, I see
that the West has been supportive to the Ukrainians, has helped them a lot, actually. So, it has been a joint effort, actually.
SCIUTTO: There's some public concern now that as Russia, as its position is weakened in the Ukraine war, that it might escalate somewhere, whether
that's in Ukraine or in Europe. Do you think that that's a fair expectation?
ROSIN: Well, what we have to understand is that Russia is an existential threat to Europe.And it has been for a very long time. And from -- let's
from our perspective, from the NATO perspective, which is existing and Estonia is part of, we have to be prepared for any different scenarios.
Of course, what we will see or are seeing from Russia is very heavy rhetorics. Rhetorics in Russia is an unlimited resource. And usually, the
weaker the Russians are, the more rhetorics and threats we will see. But we shouldn't be, you know, be scared of that.
So, we have to continue from our side, from the Western side, everything what we do, support the Ukrainians, at the same time, put sanctions,
additional sanctions, additional pressures. And the combination of these measures has an effect already.
SCIUTTO: Has Estonia seen any deterioration in the cooperation or sharing of intelligence with the U.S. in the midst of other public disagreements
between the U.S. and its NATO allies?
ROSIN: In my field of work, everything is as it was before. It's a mutually beneficial cooperation. And I haven't seen any changes. And I do not expect
to see any changes.
SCIUTTO: When I visited Estonia in recent years, there was genuine concern that the NATO plan to defend Estonia was not strong enough. You know, you
had this whole tripwire defense, which I know NATO has somewhat corrected. But do you believe that NATO has put in the forces in place, has the rapid
reaction force necessary to deter a Russian military operation?
[18:25:00]
ROSIN: I think the plans have improved. My understanding is that the beginning of the war moment counts. So, we have to be ready to defend from
the first meters and not to wait until Russians are deep and then somehow figure out how to kick them out. I think it will not work.
So, we did -- the defense must be from the very early on, from the beginning. And we have to bring the fire and destruction back to the enemy
territory as soon as possible.
SCIUTTO: If Russia were to attack Estonia, do you, does the Estonian government have any doubt in its mind that the U.S. would come to its
defense?
ROSIN: We are sure that the U.S. as part of NATO alliance will be there with us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: In today's Business Breakout, a rough way to end the week on Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell right across the board amid new weakness in tech
and a fresh rise in oil prices. The NASDAQ dropped almost 1.5 percent. Netflix had a very bad session. Indeed, shares of the streaming giant
tumbled more than 7 percent after an earnings disappointment. Investors also are concerned that Netflix is cutting back on the amount of viewer
information it actually releases.
SpaceX also hit hard. Shares fell more than 5 percent after the firm called off a test flight of its all-important Starship rocket. The company's
shares fell for a sixth session and remain below their IPO price of $135 a share.
Now, perhaps the biggest worry for tech investors today came from China. A firm called Moonshot unveiled its new A.I. model called Kimi K3 and that it
claims is as powerful as anthropic and open A.I. models, but at a lower price. All these rekindling fears that China is catching up in the A.I.
race and that U.S. firms are spending too much on AI.
Now, the Moonshot news helped trigger weakness in Asia, too. The Japanese Nikkei closed down 4 percent. The South Korea Kospi tumbled more than 6
percent.
Ryan Fedasiuk joins me now. He is a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a former State Department adviser for U.S.-China bilateral
affairs on technology. I want to thank you for joining us as we try and parse exactly what's going on here.
How do you assess this A.I. development from China? And do you think it really is a threat to A.I. supremacy in the United States?
RYAN FEDASIUK, FELLOW, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE AND FORMER STATE DEPT. U.S.- CHINA BLATERAL AFFAIRS AND TECH ADVISER: Well, thanks very much,
Paula. You know, on the one hand, I think it is clear that the American moat around building frontier A.I. software is much softer than people
thought, and we shouldn't discount the achievement unveiled by Moonshot.
On the other hand, I think the race is on to build compute infrastructure, to host and serve A.I. to global publics. And Moonshot's release today, I
think, demonstrated some of the serious constraints that China is still under.
NEWTON: It's interesting that you saw vulnerabilities there as well. China really had an ambitious program that they laid out, saying that, look, they
want to bring A.I. and A.I. development, again, kind of echoing the Belt and Road initiative that they had. They want to bring it to everywhere in
the world, safe, you know, the West, Europe, the U.S., Japan, Canada. So, I'm wondering what you think of those ambitions.
FEDASIUK: Sure. I think the important thing to understand about K3 and about open weight models unveiled in China is that in some ways they push
the cost of computationally running an A.I. system onto the consumer. K3 is a very capable model, but it is also a large model. And to store a large
model's various parameters in actual silicon, you need tons and tons of memory, the equivalent of a whole rack in a modern A.I. data center.
And this is something that China simply doesn't have enough of. On the first day of its operation, Moonshot suffered serious degradation issues
and saw an uptime of only 40 percent. My team at the American Enterprise Institute estimates that Chinese chip makers can really only supply about a
quarter of the computational power that China's labs need to serve their models to global publics. It's no longer about building the AI, but it's
about getting it into people's hands.
NEWTON: Understood. And those are some of the same constraints, obviously, that are facing companies here in the United States. Although I hear you,
the U.S. is farther along on this.
Given your history in working for the U.S. government, I am wondering at what point, whether it's with safety, you know, those guardrails that
everyone's looking for in A.I., or for the military and security implications, at what point do the U.S. and China really have to sit down
and understand what kind of A.I. architecture they want? I am old enough to remember nuclear deterrence theory and everything that went into those
negotiations. I mean, what do you think?
[18:30:00]
FEDASIUK: Sure, it's a good question. This was a core part of President Trump's recent visit to Beijing. The United States and China are proceeding
with some kind of A.I. dialogue mechanism, but I think both sides are keeping expectations pretty low.
On the same day that Moonshot unveiled K3, Xi Jinping delivered a landmark speech at China's World A.I. Conference, really doubling down on China's
plan to open source its A.I. systems. And to me, that spells some grim outcomes for any kind of dialogue around A.I. safety or security with the
Chinese government.
NEWTON: That makes for some grim listening right now. Ryan, I have to be honest with you, as we all try and parse what the next step is, we will
continue to keep in touch with you. And I want to thank you for your expertise. Appreciate it.
FEDASIUK: Sure. Thanks, Paula.
NEWTON: Straight ahead for us, Jim's conversation with the former U.S. ambassador to China, his advice to Donald Trump on how Xi Jinping and
Vladimir Putin see the United States.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: And a warm welcome back to "The Brief." I'm Paula Newton. Here are the international headlines we're watching today.
China says U.S. President Donald Trump's claims that it interfered in the 2020 U.S. election have no factual ground. In a primetime address Thursday,
Mr. Trump accused Beijing of accessing hundreds of millions of U.S. voter files, but none of the declassified documents he pointed to seem to back up
claims of major voter fraud.
At least two people are dead in catastrophic flooding in Texas. Emergency officials say more rescues are underway. Slow-moving storms have unleashed
torrential rains across a wide swath of the U.S. state. Some people sheltered in attics from the floodwaters until help arrived.
The U.S. military says it has launched a new wave of strikes on Iran Friday for a seventh night in a row.
[18:35:00]
Now, earlier, the U.S. targeted several bridges near the Strait of Hormuz. That's according to Iranian state media.
And this just in to CNN. Iranian state media says that two oil tankers have caught fire passing through a mined route in the Strait of Hormuz. Now, the
report cites Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps calling the waterway highly unsafe and completely closed. CNN has not been able to independently
confirm this report, and we haven't heard anything yet from the U.S. This is a breaking story, and we will bring you developments as we receive them.
Now, Iran, of course, was a big topic at the Aspen Security Forum. Our own Jim Sciutto spoke with Nicholas Burns, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and
China, and asked him if diplomat-to-diplomat relationships could override President Trump's antagonistic attitude to NATO.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICHOLAS BURNS, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO NATO: I was an American ambassador to NATO 25 years ago on 9/11 when we had 3,000 people dead in
our country. Guess who stepped up first? Canada, Denmark, Germany, the NATO allies. They invoked Article 5 of our treaty. They went into Afghanistan,
the Canadians to Kandahar, the Danes to Helmand. They took on the toughest mission. They paid for it in loss of life for us.
SCIUTTO: Yes.
BURNS: And so, it's good to have working-level comity. And if that's happening between the State Department and the Defense Department, good.
But what really matters is what the American president says. When Donald Trump threatened multiple occasions to invade Denmark, Greenland, part of
the Kingdom of Denmark, no American president had ever gotten close to that, would have dreamed of it. Can you imagine Truman or Eisenhower or
John F. Kennedy or Ronald Reagan doing that? No NATO leader of any country had ever threatened another NATO country. There's a bond of trust.
And ultimately, Jim, as you know very well, the entire relationship of allies is about trust. And so, I think what really matters here is what the
president is saying. It's just too much of an excuse to say, don't listen to the president. Listen to someone who's a mid-level Foreign Service
officer, part of my brethren, or a military officer. It doesn't -- I don't buy it.
SCIUTTO: Is it safe to say that both Putin and Xi focus on what the president says? Listen to him as opposed to other?
BURNS: They're autocrats, Putin and Xi. And they're listening. They're going to measure the United States based on what Donald Trump says. They --
what they hear is President Trump has been, in some cases, bitterly caustic and critical of the British prime minister, the Italian prime minister, the
French president, the German chancellor. I watch the president very carefully. And he has never uttered a word of criticism of Xi Jinping or of
Vladimir Putin or of Kim Jong-un.
So, if you're an ally -- we've got to put ourselves in Canadian, German, British shoes these days. The American president is out criticizing them
personally, making fun of Keir Starmer as he leaves office. And yet he is saying really nice things about these three authoritarian leaders. It
matters what is said in diplomacy, especially to autocratic years.
SCIUTTO: Sure.
BURNS: If Xi Jinping was there for three-plus years, he's going to measure us on what the president of the United States says and does. And right now,
it's a fairly weak policy that we're running -- that the Trump administration is running towards China.
SCIUTTO: Is this temporary damage to that trust between the U.S. and its allies, or is it lasting beyond Trump?
BURNS: I think it's going to remain a distrustful relationship while the president is in office. You can't take back what he's been saying.
SCIUTTO: A senior European diplomat said something to me in the last several days, that he senses that Trump's power has peaked, not just
domestically from a political sense, as you see some lawmakers willing to stand up to him in a way that they did in the past. Not many, but some. But
also, even in the way European allies perceive him, or perhaps even Putin and Xi perceive him. Do you think there's any truth to that?
BURNS: I think particularly they're looking at Iran now. You know, whatever we think of February 28, the decision to go to war, I think it was a
mistake. The inability of the United States to use its military power and its diplomacy to coerce the Iranians so that right now, with a ceasefire
breaking down, they're in a position of greater strength, Iran, right now than they were on February 28.
And the inability of the United States to be convincing in a structural, military, diplomatic sense, I think it's hurt the credibility of the United
States with our competitors, with the Russians and Chinese. It pains me to say that.
I want President Trump to succeed in keeping the Strait open with Iran not a tollkeeper. I want him to succeed in keeping the Iranians 100,000 miles
away from a nuclear weapon. Every American should want the president to succeed.
[18:40:00]
But he hasn't marshaled the tools of government to do that effectively until now. I hope he can do it.
SCIUTTO: Let's say he does open up the Strait of Hormuz. It was open before.
BURNS: It was. No tollkeeper.
SCIUTTO: Is the war at this point a U.S. defeat?
BURNS: I think it's too early to say. That would be a snapshot. Because we still have tremendous naval power. And if we take a page over what
President Reagan did in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq War when the Strait was closed, he marshaled a multi-month 70, 80 vessels from the United States
and other countries to keep the Strait open, a convoy to escort commercial ships so energy flew from the Gulf to the rest of the world. We could still
do that. And we could go back to really punishing economic sanctions against the Iranians. It's not going to cure everything, but it's leverage
that we need.
The president, I think, rightly seems not to want to go back rightly to an unconstrained multi-month air war because the Iranians have proved to be,
as you know very well, too patient, too tough-minded, and they think they can outlast us.
So, what the president needs to do is be -- is to convey that sense of strategic purpose. He's going to stick to this as long as he has to keep
the Strait open. What should he also do? Big international coalition. The Gulf Arabs want the United States to succeed, not Iran. The Europeans, the
Japanese, the South Koreans want the U.S. to succeed in the Strait.
The president needs to be more charitable. Take the win about NATO. All those NATO allies, as you know, are going to spend 3.5 percent of their GDP
in defense. The president can take credit for that. But instead, you have this really negative commentary by the president and his supporters about
the allies. It's not going to help us attract a big coalition to coerce Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NEWTON: Our thanks to Jim Sciutto there in Aspen with Nicholas Burns.
Now, a nasty stomach bug outbreak spreads across parts of the United States, infecting thousands of people. Why health officials believe a
certain type of lettuce is at least partly to blame. We'll have more information next on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: U.S. health officials are warning people to not eat shredded lettuce at Taco Bell restaurants in several Midwestern states. The CDC and
FDA say lettuce from a supplier in Mexico has been linked to at least part of the outbreak of this intestinal illness that's impacted thousands.
[18:45:00]
Produce distributor, Taylor Farms, is telling suppliers to stop using its shredded iceberg lettuce until it can ensure the product's safety. The
company has been linked to previous illness outbreaks, including E. coli cases tied to sliced onions in 2024 and a previous cyclospora outbreak in
the company's lettuce more than a decade ago.
Dr. Ashish Jha is a senior fellow at the Harvard Belfer Center and co- founder and CEO of BioRadar. And he served as the White House COVID-19 response coordinator under President Joe Biden. And you join me now. Doc,
am I glad to see you.
I have been looking for clarity on this for days. You can go nowhere without everyone talking about this. OK. So, now, we know that possibly
it's this shredded lettuce. I mean, should we still not eat bagged lettuce, iceberg lettuce anywhere on the continent for the next few weeks?
DR. ASHISH JHA, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO, BIORADAR: Yes, first of all, thanks for having me back. Look, this is likely one of the sources. We don't know all
the sources. And we don't really have a very good sense of how widespread this cyclospora is. There may be other cases that are going to pop up in
the days and weeks ahead.
So, my general view is, until the case counts really start coming down, I am generally advising, if you can avoid it, avoid uncooked vegetables,
obviously, including lettuce.
NEWTON: Wow. You're literally telling us just stay away from it. Stay away from the raw carrots, the green peppers. You're just saying stay away.
DR. JHA: No, what I'm saying is, first of all, carrots and peppers, cook them up. Obviously, lettuce is a little weird thing to cook up. But if you
can, if you want to, that's fine.
But look, here's the point. This is a nasty parasite. You can get weeks of pretty serious diarrhea. We've got to get this under control. It is not yet
under control. If you can avoid fresh lettuce for a couple more weeks while this gets sorted out, I think the better part of valor is probably to do
that. Is it going to be super dangerous? No. But that's what I'm advising my friends and family.
NEWTON: And let me get to that point in a second, although I now realize I will not be having a salad for dinner. So, if someone does get it, though,
I mean, how serious is it? Can you get treated for it right away? You know, those kinds of questions.
DR. JHA: Yes, look, people have been hospitalized. The main reason people get hospitalized from this is because the diarrhea can be quite severe.
People get dehydrated. If you have underlying health conditions, that can make things worse. Thankfully, no one has died that we know of. And the
good news is there's a really simple, straightforward treatment. There's an antibiotic, Bactrim or Septra. It's Trimethoprim. Sulfamethoxazole is the
official name. But the point is it's a very common antibiotic that we can use. And it dramatically improves symptoms and shortens the course of the
disease.
So, it is treatable if you're having diarrhea. It's at all going on beyond a couple of days. Going in and getting tested is a good idea.
NEWTON: And now, we go to the issue of food safety. I mean, I'll just ask you up front. Are you satisfied with the way the Trump administration has
handled this outbreak?
DR. JHA: Yes, look. There's -- every year, every summer, we have a cyclospora outbreak. This year, we think this one is somewhere between six
and 10 times bigger than previous years. That is a failure of our food safety system. This was predictable.
A year ago, RFK Jr. and HHS cut FoodNet, the program that did active surveillance. They made it no longer active for cyclospora. They eliminated
the office in the CDC that oversaw this disease. One is not surprised that soon after those cuts, we're seeing the biggest cyclospora outbreak in
recent memory.
So, I do think that the Kennedy HHS is partly responsible here. This has not gone as well as it needs to. I'd like to see more action and faster
response in the future.
NEWTON: And when you say more action, because I think, you know, when you look at the supply chain here, there are different things that can go
wrong. So, are you saying it is at the food inspection level, or maybe they should have done more random inspections, maybe they would have cut this
sooner, or do you believe it is in the tracing of it and not being able to trace it as quickly as they need to or as precisely as they need to?
DR. JHA: It's probably both. We need to do a better job of when we have food coming in from other countries, doing more spot checks, more
assessments is probably going to be useful, and there are some bills to actually push that forward.
But the bigger issue here is, look, as I said, every year we have an outbreak of cyclospora around May, June, July. That's not unusual. What
happens is you need to do active surveillance looking for this bug. And as soon as you find it, you need to alert people, and that's when we do the
tracing, and we get this under control. None of that happened this year, and that's why we're so far behind, and so many more Americans have gotten
sick than is necessary.
[18:50:00]
NEWTON: Dr. Jha, just like we did through COVID, we so appreciate the clarity. I really appreciate you being here. It is good to see you. And
yes, I hope there is no follow-up for this summer. We'll talk to you about wellness, you know, programs in the fall.
DR. JHA: Anytime. Anytime.
NEWTON: Take care, Doc. Thanks so much. Coming up on "The Brief," film fans are lining up to get their tickets for the mythic action epic "Odyssey."
We'll hear how this film is different from everything that's come before it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NEWTON: The Oscar-winning actress, Brenda Fricker, has died at the age of 81. Now, she is best known for her role in the 1989 film, "My Left Foot,"
for which she won her Academy Award. But many who love Christmas movies will know Fricker from "Home Alone 2," "Lost in New York" and as the
Central Park Pigeon Lady. In a statement her agent confirmed Fricker's death and said, we will never see her like -- see anyone like her again and
the world is a lesser -- is lesser for the lack of her.
Now, it is opening night for one of the most anticipated blockbusters of the year. The "Odyssey" is projected to make a hundred million dollars this
weekend in North America.
Award-winning director Christopher Nolan shot the entire film with IMAX cameras which are capable of capturing a larger higher resolution image
than conventional cameras. It's the first time that's ever been done for an entire feature length movie. There are only about 40 theaters in the world
capable of showing the "Odyssey" the way Nolan wants it to be seen in IMAX with 70-millimeter film.
Now, earlier Variety magazine's Marlow Stern told me more about this special movie.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARLOW STERN, CHIEF CORRESPONDENT, VARIETY: It's an epic film all right. I mean the scale of this thing is just massive. Christopher Nolan, it's the
first film to be shot entirely with IMAX 70-millimeter cameras. So, really the one way to see this film the proper way at least is in an IMAX cinema.
The problem is that there's only 25 of those 70-millimeter IMAX cinemas in North America and that's among the 3,800 theaters this film is opening in.
So, you really got a jockey for tickets to this thing.
NEWTON: You would say though you saw it in IMAX you're saying it's worth it, but one of the reasons it's worth it, right, is the trouble that
Christopher Nolan goes to to get some of these scenes done right and what the movie cost a quarter billion dollars to make?
STERN: Yes. It cost 250 million. And you know, the technology is just fascinating. I mean, he built -- first off, he built a lot of these sets by
hand. So, we haven't really seen something of this scale in quite some time particularly with a sword and sandals epic.
[18:55:00]
And again, he used these 70-millimeter IMAX cameras, which means that he fixed a blimp around these giant cameras because they're so noisy to the
point where actors couldn't even see each other. So, the interesting thing was he created this mirror system around the camera where actors would act
alongside a reflection of the other actor. So, just the filmmaking process was fascinating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: OK. And finally, for us, President Donald Trump attending a special FIFA reception today at Trump Tower, that is ahead of the World Cup final
on Sunday where Argentina will defend its title against European champion Spain in New Jersey. Now, the two sides have not met in a men's World Cup
since 1966. Argentina won that one 2-1.
This time it's a contest of young versus old with Argentine superstar, Lionel Messi, trying to cap off his record-breaking career with back-to-
back World Cup titles. And Spanish teenager, Lamine Yamal, launching himself onto the world stage with his stunning footwork. It is going to be
quite a weekend.
And I want to thank you for your company. I'm Paula Newton in New York. You've been watching "The Brief." Stay with CNN for more news.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:00:00]
END
